The German giant is looking to develop new drugs for undisclosed eye diseases using Re-Vana’s extended-release injectable platform to supply drugs to the eye for months at a time.
Boehringer Ingelheim has formed a development partnership with U.S. and U.K.–based Re-Vana Therapeutics aimed at creating new long-acting therapies for eye diseases.
The deal, announced Monday, includes an undisclosed upfront payment from Boehringer to Re-Vana, but developmental, regulatory and commercial milestone payments could push the deal’s value north of $1 billion based on an initial three targets, according to the announcement.
The precise targets the partners will go after were also not disclosed, but Boehringer will be able to add up to three projects to its pipeline per year. The companies also did not share the length of the agreement.
The collaboration combines Re-Vana’s extended-release drug delivery technology with potentially newly developed drugs to create what the companies called “first-in-class” therapies for the eye. Re-Vana’s platform aims to enable long acting drug delivery by injecting a polymer into the eye that slowly releases a drug over a period of six to 12 months, reducing the need for repeated injections into the eye.
Boehringer doesn’t currently have any approved ophthalmic drugs, though it does have four candidates in development. Those include an unnamed vascular modulator in Phase I for an unannounced indication; BI 764524, an antibody for diabetic retinopathy in Phase II; and BI 771716, an antibody fragment in Phase II for geographic atrophy. BI 771716 is being developed with the Swiss firm CDR-Life, in a deal dating back to 2020.
Founded in 2016, Re-Vana is a spinout of Queens University Belfast. After launching and closing an $11.9 million series A round in 2022, the company is currently in the middle of a series B raise, according to an email sent to BioSpace. Though Re-Vana is establishing partnerships with larger pharmas based partially on its extended-release technology, it is also producing an internal pipeline, including a six-month extended-release version of Regeneron’s macular degeneration drug Eylea, which is in Phase II/III trials, as well as a six-month bispecific antibody in an undisclosed indication.
